Healing Potions and Their Benefits
by meerkitten47
Summary: A revelation from Severus Snape comes along with a noticeable change in his personality, one that causes Remus Lupin to reconsider his feelings for him. What will come of their potions tutoring session? Rated M because it's better to be safe than sorry.


Healing Potions and Their Benefits

"Look, there's Snivellus!" James pointed excitedly as he sped up, mischief glinting in his eyes. Snape was walking briskly along the corridor with another Slytherin sixth year, Carl Samson. The boys were leaning towards each other, chattering away animatedly. Normally this would give them the appearance of conspirators plotting, but there was something off about Snape today: he was smiling. The action seemed unnatural on his face, but he was smiling nonetheless. Remus noticed that a small dimple had appeared in Snape's left cheek. He smiled involuntarily.

"Who's this, Snivelly," James jeered, "Your boyfriend?" Snape glanced up at James, the smile vanishing from his face.

"Yes, actually, he is," Snape said defiantly before continuing to walk towards the great hall. James', Remus', and Sirius' mouths all hung open in surprise.

"Did he just say what I think he said?" James asked confusedly. Remus nodded slowly, still a bit shocked.

Sirius was staring after Snape with an odd look on his face. He almost appeared… pleased, to Remus' observant eyes.

"Guys!" they heard someone shout from the end of the corridor. It was Peter, returning from breakfast. They turned around and waited for him to catch up. When he reached the other Marauders near the staircase, he doubled over on his knees while he tried to catch his breath.

"…have…the most…incredible news!" he gasped out. He stood back up, nearly bouncing with excitement.

"Well, out with it then!" Sirius clapped him on the back, causing Peter to cough abruptly.

"Snape is gay!" he said without preamble, "I've only just heard, at breakfast. Some Ravenclaw caught him and Samson snogging in the dungeons after potions! Snogging!" Peter looked expectantly at his three friends for their reactions. The boys laughed, and Peter grinned. "Told you it was incredible!"

"Old news, Peter," James said in a bored tone.

"Just heard it from the man himself," Remus explained. Peter's face fell.

The boys started to climb the staircase up to Gryffindor tower. They had Herbology in the greenhouses in half an hour, and needed their books.

"Who would have thought? Snape, a fairy! What do you think of all this, Padfoot?" James asked Sirius, who appeared to be in deep contemplation.

"Hmm?" Sirius mumbled distractedly. "It's, um, interesting," he said quickly before blushing and ducking his head. James looked at him curiously and shrugged.

"Nothing like a good scandal before lunch, I always say," James cried cheerfully.

The news of Snape and his boyfriend Carl was soon, if not welcomed, at least accepted. Most had always thought him a little bit "queer", so their behavior towards him did not change. If anything their taunts, which were now founded in truth instead of suspicion, didn't appear to affect Snape much at all. Not everyone would become more confident after coming out to his peers, but Snape had grown used to being different from everyone else.

A quiet revolution was springing up at Hogwarts. The number of gay students magically doubled after Snape's revelation. James was very pleased.

"That means less competition for Evans!" He realized gleefully. "Now she'll have to take me!"

Remus rolled his eyes. While he didn't share James' sentiments, he also felt strangely heartened by the sudden influx of openly gay students, one in particular…

He found himself observing Severus (as he now referred to Snape in his head) repeatedly over the past week. He noticed the way Severus' hair, which once hung over his eyes like a partition between him and the world, was now pulled back behind his ears, revealing light green eyes gleaming with happiness. It was still oily, but increasingly less so every day, and it looked like a comb had recently touched it. His Slytherin tie was loosened jauntily beneath his robes. Severus walked now with a swagger quite opposite from his previous awkward slink. But the best change (in Remus' opinion) was his smile. When he had worn his perpetual scowl, Remus had never realized that his teeth were small and straight, or that Severus' lips were nearly red. Remus found himself thinking about Severus' dark, full lips at the most inopportune times.

It was one of these daydreams ("I wonder how soft his lips are," Remus thought to himself) that Sirius interrupted with a rather jarring comment.

"I wonder what uses Snape has been putting that beautiful mouth to?" Sirius whispered in Remus' direction.

Remus promptly dropped his unchopped beetles into his cauldron. It turned a vivid green color far removed from the "rosy pink" he was aiming for.

"Damn it Sirius! You can't say things like that when I'm trying to concentrate!" Remus hissed as he hastily tried to save his potion.

"Looked like you were concentrating pretty hard on the back of Snape's head," Sirius grinned, raising his eyebrows at Remus, who was definitely turning rosy pink.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Remus said stiffly. He refused to look at Sirius.

James, who had been eavesdropping from his neighboring cauldron, leaned over to berate Sirius.

"You know, Padfoot, you at least could have told your best mates you were gay. You know we don't care if you fancy blokes. Although I think Snivellus is a _bit_ below your standards."

"I like what he's done with his hair," Sirius said dryly, then added, "And who said I was gay? I'm just not…opposed to experimentation. I'm _that_ scientific." He winked cheekily at Remus. James snorted in derision.

Still cursing under his breath, Remus added a pinch of Billywig. His potion started to congeal around the edges, and was now the color of fresh hippogriff dung. Professor Slughorn walked by at that moment and peered into Remus' cauldron.

"Tsk, tsk," he tutted, "Not what I expect from you Mr. Lupin." He vanished the contents of the cauldron without another word and moved on to Snape, who had done quite well.

"I say, why don't you tutor Remus, Mr. Snape? He could use some friendly encouragement," Slughorn said to Snape. Severus glanced over at Remus and nodded. Remus grinned back weakly (and a bit embarrassedly) back.

Inside, Remus' stomach was fluttering, but he remembered to look mad at Sirius.

"You owe me, Black. Big time," he muttered darkly between clenched teeth. Sirius replied in a flash.

"And what service would you have me do to repay you?" he said with a suggestive tone.

"Oh god!" Remus moaned. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Severus staring at him with a measured look.

"You'd better go arrange your study date," James teased. Remus glared at him, but gathered his bookbag and strode away slowly over to Severus.

"How's eight o'clock?" Severus asked brusquely, looking at something over Remus' shoulder. Remus turned around. Carl was waiting in the dungeon corridor for Severus. He sighed.

"That's fine. See you then," he affirmed. Severus nodded and left quickly.

Remus' friends were waiting for him in the grand hall. "If Sirius gives me one more knowing look like that," Remus thought, "I'll have to kill him."

"No, Remus, you must stir it _counter_-clockwise," Severus chided. He placed his hand over Remus' and guided him through the motion.

"How do you know so much?" Remus asked breathily. Severus stopped stirring, but kept his hand on Remus'. He leaned over to whisper into his ear.

"I know a lot of interesting things. I know that you've been staring at me lately." And with that he leaned over and ever so slowly pressed his lips to…

"Remus!" Peter startled him out of his daydream. He sighed wistfully; the image of Severus' dark lips nearing his was still stuck in his mind.

"What did you have to do that for, Pete?" he asked.

"He was doing you a favor, mate. You were starting to look all moony-eyed, no pun intended," James said, fooling no one.

Sirius smirked knowingly at Remus, further annoying the sandy-haired boy. Remus ignored him and turned back to his dinner, subconsciously avoiding the garlic dinner rolls.

An anxious feeling was starting to well up in his chest, particularly when he glanced over to the Slytherin table. He tried in vain all day not to think of his meeting with Severus later that evening. Classes had been torturous; who could be bothered with the Goblin Revolt of 1487 when they had a study date with Hogwarts' most mysterious student? He tried not to make the studying session into more than it really was, but Sirius' tales of "tutoring" girls had been enough to make his imagination run wild.

Suddenly, a movement at the Slytherin table caused Remus to turn around. Severus had stood up and was glaring agitatedly at his boyfriend. Carl yelled something that Remus could not quite hear, but caused the people around them to gasp in shock. Severus stood deathly still for a moment, his face devoid of expression. Then, he turned his back slowly on Carl and exited the Great Hall. As he walked away, Remus noticed that his hand was clenched in a fist at his side. His dark eyes glowered with an intensity that Remus found strangely alluring. The students watched him stalk off to the dungeons silently. Once conversation resumed, Remus let out the breath he had been holding.

"I hope Snivellus doesn't cancel your study date," Sirius teased, and Remus thought for the millionth time that day that he would gladly tape his mouth shut.

Remus arrived at the potions dungeon early, hoping for a chance to compose himself before Severus showed up. Professor Slughorn was packing up his briefcase as he entered.

"Mr. Lupin!" he greeted Remus jovially, "I'm just on my way out to meet with the headmaster. I'm sure I can trust you and Mr. Snape alone. That boy has _such _a talent for potions."

Remus was starting to feel truly nervous, although he had been hoping Professor Slughorn would not be present.

"Don't worry, Professor, we'll be very careful," he assured his teacher. He put on his most wining smile. Professor Slughorn nodded with pleasure.

"You're a good kid, Mr. Lupin, just a little sloppy with the ingredients sometimes, eh?" he joked with a grin. He gave Remus a wink as he opened the door and walked out of the room.

Remus drummed his fingers on his desk. He was beginning to worry that Severus was still upset from whatever had transpired at dinner and would skip the meeting.

Just as Remus stood up to retrieve his bag and leave after minutes of waiting, Severus burst through the door. His hair was disheveled, as if he had been running his hands through it in agitation, and he retained the intense look he bore earlier in the evening. Remus sputtered for words as he sat back down quickly and clumsily.

"Severus!" he finally managed, cursing his lack of coherency.

Severus sat down next to Remus and began a steady stream of restless chatter.

"I apologize for being late, I was preoccupied and nearly forgot about our meeting. I thought we could start with a simple potion. I came during my off period to set up the ingredients. We'll do a headache-relieving potion. If you'll pass me that lacewing…" he said, gesturing to a nearby vial. Remus, frozen in inaction, noticed Severus' left hand was shaking. Then he gasped.

"Severus, what happened to your wrist?" he inquired, staring at the bandage covering his wrist, and then at the boy's tired-looking face.

Severus gave him a hard look. "Nothing," he replied curtly. He reached past Remus for the lacewing and began to chop it into smaller pieces.

Remus was concerned, and a little frightened by Severus' restless state. Tentatively, he asked, "Severus, are you alright?" He expected another unsatisfactory answer, but he was caught off-guard when Severus finally spoke, after a short pause.

"No, not really," he said with a ragged sigh. He slowly lowered the knife he was cutting the lacewing with and delicately placed his hands on the table.

"I…well, I don't want to prod, but if you want to talk about it…-"

"Carl broke up with me," Severus interrupted him. He looked away from Remus for a moment. "He's wrong about me, you know," he said softly.

"Wrong about what?" Remus asked gently, practically whispering.

"You didn't hear him at dinner, then?" Severus snorted derisively. "I thought the whole Great Hall could hear…"

Remus was overflowing with curiosity. He tried to calm himself down and appear aloof. Severus finally spoke.

"Carl deemed it necessary to tell everyone that I'm not really gay," he said.

Remus' heart sank. Then he remembered what Severus had said before. "But…that wasn't the truth?" He tried to erase any trace of desperation from his face as he asked.

Severus laughed quietly. "No, Remus. Do you really think I would come out to a school of hostile teenagers if it were a lie?" He smiled sadly. "No, I am gay. I just didn't love Carl. He represented everything I hated about the 'typical' gay man. But when I was with him, I at least didn't feel like I was hiding from myself. I felt free for once. I just…I worry I will never find a man I can truly love. I'm so, so sick of being alone." As he said that he nervously fingered the bandage on his wrist.

Remus finally put two and two together. He slowly reached for Severus' wrist. He gently rubbed it when Severus did not move away. To Remus' horror, a single tear fell down Severus' cheek. He clenched his jaw as he fought not to sob.

"Severus, believe me. I often worry the same thing," he said to console him.

"You mean, because you're a werewolf?" Severus asked quietly.

"_What_? How…how do you—?"

"Remus, please. You may have fooled all the dimwits here, but I am not blind," Severus said with a small smile, as the tear finally fell off his face.

"Severus, don't tell anyone, please!" Remus begged. He stared warily at Severus. The other boy now clasped his hand on Remus' shoulder.

"I wouldn't dare," he said solemnly, "I would never want to hurt you." He was now staring directly into Remus' eyes. Remus was shocked to see the vulnerability in Severus' green eyes. Then something changed in them. Remus was suddenly very aware of the warm hand on his shoulder. He glanced from it back to Severus, who tightened his grip on Remus' shoulder before saying throatily, "Remus."

It wasn't quite a question, but Remus felt the need to answer. Everything seemed to click into place as he said, "Yes." Severus moved his hand slowly up to cup Remus' face. Drawing a shaky breath, he slid off his stool to stand before the brown-haired boy. Slowly, agonizingly, he placed his other hand behind Remus' head.

Remus thought about how spectacular Severus' red lips looked this close to his, then promptly lost all thought as Severus finally kissed him.

He had tried to deny his attraction to Severus, but now he could not possibly ignore it. Not when he was snaking his arms around Severus' back and pulling the boy to stand between his legs. He was so relieved to be sitting, because he was beginning to feel quite unsteady and intoxicated.

Severus also felt quite reckless. He removed one of the hands tangled in Remus' wavy hair to grab the table for support. He nearly fell down onto Remus when the small boy moaned into his mouth.

That was all the encouragement Severus required to start loosening Remus' silk Prefect tie. Remus eagerly pulled him in closer, lightly scratching his nails on Severus' back. He held Severus' lips in the kiss, barely taking time to breathe, as Severus started on the buttons of Remus' shirt.

Severus' hands were cool suddenly, as he ran them over Remus' bare chest. Remus hissed in pleasure at the contact, then captured Severus in another furious kiss.

Suddenly they heard someone humming loudly outside in the corridor. The boys froze in fear, wide eyes staring at each other. They broke apart hastily and tried to reduce Remus' disheveled state; Severus had remained largely unruffled, whereas Remus had begun to resemble a rabid squirrel. Just as Severus smoothed down a lock of Remus' errant hair, Professor Slughorn entered the room.

"Hello, boys! Getting ready to leave, I see," he said, observing the boys standing up. They reached quickly for their bags and books.

"Right," Severus agreed in a fairly level voice, to Remus' amazement. Remus kept his head down to prevent Slughorn from seeing his blushing face and swollen lips. The boys started to move towards the door.

"Why, it doesn't look as if you did any work at all!" Slughorn exclaimed as he looked into the empty cauldron.

"We went over some of the theory of healing potions today," Severus lied easily, "It was Remus' idea."

Slughorn beamed. "Excellent idea, Mr. Lupin! So glad to see you boys getting along so famously." Remus had to stifle a laugh. Severus ushered him quickly out the door.

"Goodnight, Professor!" he called behind him as he closed the door. Remus broke out into giggles. Severus covered the other boy's mouth with his hand. "Shh!" he said, smiling. Remus playfully blew on Severus' hand. He loved seeing signs of happiness on his new lover's face.

"You know, Severus, our study date got cut rather short. We could always continue it right now in the library. I know just the dark corner we need…" he said, looking coquettishly at Severus.

Severus grabbed him in a passionate embrace, gripping his back as if afraid to let go.

"Remus Lupin, you are incredible," he said into Remus' ear. Then, with a glimmer in his eyes, he started to walk off in the direction of the library, leaving Remus behind to gaze after him in awe.

"Are you coming?" he asked Remus.

"You bet I am," Remus smiled, jogging to catch up.


End file.
